[quasar]

Our son is 9 days old and we have had a few issues with BF. I think we're getting them straightened out, but I do have a supply question. It seems my right side has a much better supply than the left. After nursing, I pump both sides to increase production and to supplement him. Last night, he mainly just nursed from the right side, so I wanted to make sure that the left was expressed completely this morning to encourage it to refill. Well, I was only able to get about 1/2 an ounce from that side.

: He hadn't even nursed but maybe 5 minutes all night from that side so it should have been more full. From the other side, which he nursed from for about 25 minutes, I was able to pump about 2 more ounces from.

How do I get the sides to even out more? I'm happy with the amount the right side is producing, but the left side is just frustrating me.

 

[starling&diesel]

Hi Quasar!!!
How are things, mama? You've got to change your signature...

Onto the topic at hand. I won't get into my myriad of breastfeeding challenges, but I too have a lopsided supply. My LC first suggested starting each feed on the weaker side, when your babe is hungriest and the suck the strongest, then switch to the heftier side, let babe drain that, then if he's still interested, switch him back to the weaker side. Or you could try block feeding on that weaker side, after he's done a block feed of the heftier side.
You could also pump the weaker side when he's nursing on the heftier side.

In my case, none of that worked. Sorry to say. I am lopsided for good. So DD gets her nutritive sucking on the heftier side, then I let her comfort nurse and supplement on the weaker side.

Good to see you!

ETA: pumping is no indication of supply ... babe is a much better booby emptier!

 

[pbjmama]

Well first you should know this is normal - just as normal as having one foot bigger than the other. One breast is probably larger than the other and has more milk glands and tissue. As long as baby is getting enough milk it is more of an inconvenience, IMO. You could always start with the weaker side first to try to build supply. In a few cases women find it easier to just go to nursing from one side.

 

[JudiAU]

I had the same thing, at least I think I did. I could always pump a lot more from one side than the other. Over time, the less producing size got a bit smaller in size whereas I was pretty well matched before pregnancy. It annoyed me a lot. I switched to offering the smaller side when I was home first.

But...I thought I would mention that the size difference has gone away now with pregnancy and weaning. Don't stress about it.

 

[pbjmama]

I had another thought. Have you been fitted for breast shields for pumping? You may need a different size shield for one breast to maximize pumping output.